Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff

Memorial Hermann executive leaving to head Ascension Texas

Craig Cordola, a longtime Memorial Hermann Health System executive, is leaving to head operations at Ascension Texas, a network of hospitals in Austin and Waco, officials with both institutions said Wednesday.

Cordola has been with Memorial Hermann for 14 years, most recently as senior vice president of the health system and president of its West Region, which includes its hospitals in Memorial City, Katy and Cypress.

In his new position, which begins Sept. 1, he will oversee Seton Healthcare Family in Austin and Providence Healthcare Network in Waco.

"I'm looking forward to moving back to Austin and working with the leadership team," Cordola said in a statement released by Ascension, a Catholic health-care system and the largest nonprofit system in the nation with 140 hospitals in 24 states.

His departure follows a spate of high-profile executive exits at Memorial Hermann and elsewhere at Houston's marquee hospitals.

A Memorial Hermann spokeswoman said Wednesday that Cordola's leaving was not related to the ongoing turmoil that has left the city's medical community reeling.

Last month Dr. Benjamin Chu, Memorial Hermann's CEO for one year, left abruptly. Dan Styf, a senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health Plans, also left a year after being brought in to run the health-care network's foray into the individual insurance market. The hospital system announced recently it was abandoning that effort and will not sell individual plans for next year.

The health system has also laid off 460 employees since spring.

Elsewhere, Dr. Ron DePinho was forced out as CEO of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in March. Then, just a week after Chu's resignation, Michael Covert, the CEO of St. Luke's Health, resigned suddenly. A week later, Jenny Barnett-Sarpalius, St. Luke's CFO, also stepped down.

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Memorial Hermann executive leaving to head Ascension Texas - Chron.com